AID AND ARMS

European countries pledge help for Iraq

Associated Press

BRUSSELS

The European Union on Friday forged a unified response to the rapid advance of Islamic militants in Iraq and the resulting refugee crisis, allowing direct arms deliveries to Kurdish fighters battling the Sunni insurgents. Several EU nations pledged more humanitarian aid.

The emergency meeting of the bloc’s 28 foreign ministers in Brussels marked a shift toward greater involvement in Iraq, after weeks during which the Europeans mainly considered the situation an American problem because of the 2003 U.S.-led Iraq invasion.

EU ministers pledged to step up efforts to help those fleeing advancing Islamic State militants, with several nations announcing they will fly dozens of tons of aid to northern Iraq over the coming days.

“First of all, we need to make sure that we alleviate humanitarian suffering,” Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans told reporters. “Secondly, I believe we need to make sure that [Islamic State] is not in a position to overrun the Kurds or to take a stronger hold on Iraq.”

France has pledged to ship weapons to the Kurds, and Britain is delivering ammunition and military supplies obtained from eastern European nations and is considering sending more weaponry. Germany, the Netherlands and others said they also would consider requests to arm the Kurds.

Europe’s initiative came as Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to step down after weeks of insisting on a third four-year term. His departure could pave the way for a more inclusive Iraqi government and strengthen Baghdad’s position in battling the Sunni insurgency.

A veteran Shiite lawmaker, Haider al-Abadi, now faces the challenge of forming a stable government in Iraq and engaging Sunni politicians, who say their disenfranchisement under al-Maliki’s Shiite-dominated government fueled support for the insurgency among the Sunni minority.

The EU foreign ministers called on al-Abadi to urgently form a government that will be “inclusive and able to address the needs and legitimate aspirations of all the Iraqi citizens.”

U.S. and EU officials have said they can beef up their support for Iraq once a stable government is in place.